CICW has awarded Vital Worship, Vital Preaching Grants for over 20 years to teacher-scholars and worshiping communities in 45+ states and provinces and across 40+ denominations and traditions—including Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, non-denominational, and other Protestant communities.


While worship styles and practices vary greatly across these traditions, the grant projects typically explore at least one of CICW’s ten core convictions related to worship. Explore the hundreds of projects we’ve funded across both streams of the program.

Sacraments
Select Year
Select State/Province
Teacher-Scholar Historical Liturgy

Aquinas Institute of Theology

Nathan Chase

To study the connection between sacramental practices and ordinary life (meal, ministry of touch, and oil) through three historical case studies from the early church and Roman Catholic liturgical practice to help Roman Catholic worshiping communities understand the historical origins of Eucharist, healing, and ordination.

Teacher-Scholar
St. Louis, missouri
2024
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Teacher-Scholar Ecumenical Sacraments

Goshen College

John D. Roth

To foster ecumenical conversations about baptism by hosting seminars for pastors and lay leaders using a newly created accessible study guide on the recent groundbreaking report of the international Lutheran-Mennonite-Roman Catholic Trilateral Dialogue on Baptism. 

Teacher-Scholar
Goshen, indiana
2021
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Teacher-Scholar Ecumenical Sacraments

Lee University

Christopher A. Stephenson

To develop a pneumatological perspective on baptism and the Lord's Supper that nurtures vibrant experiences of the Holy Spirit within traditional liturgical forms and practices, and to encourage substantial Pentecostal contributions to ecumenical dialogue on the sacraments.

Teacher-Scholar
Cleveland, tennessee
2021
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Teacher-Scholar Ecumenical Sacraments

Northwestern College

John Vonder Bruegge

To produce new, collaborative translations of Jesus’ parables that both remain true to the Greek text and strive for a listenability in their oral presentation, and to gather those translations into a publication that equips worshiping communities to deliver the texts orally in worship.

Teacher-Scholar
Orange City, iowa
2021
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Worshiping Communities Sacraments

Celebration Fellowship

To nourish Christian unity and interpersonal connection within a prison by initiating and reflecting on a weekly practice of the eucharist.

Worshiping Communities
Grand Rapids, michigan
2020
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Teacher-Scholar Public Witness Sacraments

Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary

Andrew Wymer and Kristen Daley Mosier

To engage the baptismal practices of diverse Christian communities in regions impacted by toxic water, and to construct a theoretical and practical vision of baptismal solidarity for the broader Church.

Teacher-Scholar
Evanston, illinois
2020
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Teacher-Scholar Formation Sacraments

Lee University

Lisa Milligan Long

To survey worshipers' understanding of the effect of participation in the Lord's Supper, and to offer methods to leaders in a variety of denominational settings for deepening Eucharistic participation.

Teacher-Scholar
Cleveland, tennessee
2019
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